Well tool



Oct. 22, 1963 Filed Sept. 16. 1960 R. W. DlNNlNG INV EN TOR.

Oct.v 22, 1963 R. w. DINNING WELL TOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 16.1960 m \W MN United States Patent lltice 3,167,731 WELL TL Robert W.Dinning, Longview, Tex., assigner to US. Industries, inc., a corporationof Delaware Filed Sept. 16, 1960, Ser. No. 56,425 4 Ciairns. (Cl.166-217) rIihis invention relates to an improved tool of the type whichis adapted to be anchored within and then rernoved from a well or otherconduit. Such tools are useful in providing a stop for or otherwisesupporting additional tools against one or both of upward and downwardmovement within the well. This invention relates more particularly to animproved tool of this type known in the art las a collar stop andadapted to be anchored in a recess [formed a collar connecting adjacentjoints of well pipe.

In accordance with conventional practices, such tools are run into andpulled from Ithe well by means of a wire line which is manipulated Afromthe wellhead. The wire line also serves to shift different parts of thetool relative to one another for causing them to move into and out ofanchoring position. However, in setting prior tools of this type, it hasbeen necessary either to use a special tool or to resort to a frequentlytedious manipulation of the wire line.

It is also true that these prior tools have been of such constructionthat forces in the well beneath them tend to release them from anchoringposition. Still further, many of them are complicated in design, andhave pockets in which mud may collect or enclosed springs which maybecome fouled.

An object of this invention is to provide such a tool which may be setor anchored without a special tool and by means of a simple manipulationof 4a wire line.

A still further object is to provide such a tool whose anchoringposition is actually tightened when subjected to forces from below aswell as above.

Still another object is to provide such a tool which will movelongitudinally within the well with less resistance and thus withgreater speed than other tools of this type.

A still further` object is to provide such a tool which is of simpledesign in that it comprises a minimum of parts; is free of pockets whichwill ll with mud; and has no enclosed springs which may become fouled.

Ofther objects, advantages and features of this invention will beapparent .to one skilled in the art upon consideration of the writtenspecication, the attached claims and the annexed drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters are used throughoutIto designate `like parts:

FIG. l is `a front View, partly in section, of a portion of a toolconstructed in accordance with the present invention, and with its partsarranged for running into a well;

FIG. 2 is a side view of partly in section;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic View as it is being run into a well;

FIG. 4 is a View similar to FIG. 3, but in which the tool has beenlocated opposite a collar recess in the well;

FIG. 5 is another diagrammatic View of the `front of the tool, and inanchored position within the recess; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 upon -freeing of the tool fromanchored position and as it is pulled from the well.

, Referring now to the details of the drawings, ticularly and indicated:in its entirety by reference character 10 comprises an assembly whichincludes a body 11 adapted to be moved longitudinally within a well 12made up of pipe joints 13. These joints are threadedly connected at thertool of FIG. 1, also shown of the side of the tool and parto FIGS. 3 to6, the tool illustrated therein JYJ Patented 9ct. 22, 1963 theiropposite ends by collars 14 to form annular recesses 15; and, in itspreferred embodiment, the tool 10 is a collar stop which is adapted tobe anchored in one such recess, as shown in FIG. 5.

The upper end of the body 11 has a head 16 above a reduced neck por-tion17 to provide a downwardly facing annular shoulder 18. As the tool isrun into and 1ocated within the well (FIGS. 3 and 4), it is supported bymeans of a suitable running tool 19 releasably connected to this head byshear pin 2l).` This running tool is suspended rfrom a wire line 21extending to the wellhead for longitudinal reciprocation in aconventional manner. It is disconnected from the head 16 `and removedfrom the well when thev collar stop has been anchored therein (.FIG. 5).

As shown in FIG. 6, the collar stop 10 may be removed from anchoredposition Ashown and pulled from the well by means of a siutable pullingtool 22 which, similarly to the running tool 19 of FIGS. 3 4and 4, isreleasably connected to the head 116 of the collar stop and su-spendedfrom a wire line. However, -as distinguished from the running tool, thelower end of the pulling tool has spring ngers or other means well knownin the art which permit it to be lowered onto the head '16 for grippingbeneath shoulder 18.

A pair of dogs 23 'are carried on opposite sides of the body 1=1 of thecollar stop for radial movement with respect thereto between theretracted position of FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 6, wherein they permit theassembly to move `freely longitudinally of the well, and the expandedposition of FIG. 5, wherein they are disposed within the recess 15 ofcollar 14 to anchor the stop within the well. More particularly, eachdog comprises an 'arcuate segment having an inner surface for littingclosely adjacent the outer diameter of the body 11 when retracted and anouter surface for tting closely adjacent the inner diameter of thecoll-ars 14 when expanded.

The upper and lower edges 24 and 25, respectively, of the dogs 23provide transversely extending shoulders for engagement with theoppositely facing ends of the well pipes 13 to anchor the stop againsteither upward or downward movement. For example, when there is aresultant fforce on the stop in la downward direction, the lowershoulders Z5 will engage with the upwardly facing end of the lower wellpipe 13, as shown in FIG. 5, to prevent downward movement of the stop.On the other hand, in the case of a resultant upward pressure, the uppershoulders 24 wl engage with the lower edge of the upper well pipe toprevent upward movement of the stop.

The dogs 23 are supported on the upper ends of spring fingers 26connected at their lower ends to a carrier 27. More particularly, and asbest indicated by their bowed lower ends in FIG. l, thesengers comprisethin rods which are so anchored in the carrier las to normally flareupwardly and outwardly. Thus, in the absence of the means to bedescribed hereinafter for :forcing the rods 'into the well.

-As shown in FIG. l, there is an opening 30 in the lower end of thecarrier 27 for connection with another tool which, by virtue of suchconnection, may be Vanchoredl with the collar stop inthe well. However,it is contemplatedthat the other tool or tools to be so` anchored may besimilarly connected to the upper end of the collar stop,

and further that the tool or tools may merely bear on the stop.

During running of the stop, the dogs 23 are held in the retractedposition by means of a wire 31 which conneots them together with theirinner sides closely adjacent the body 11. More particularly, this wireextends between and through the oppositely disposed pair of dogs shown,and is bent over at its opposite ends 32 (FIG. 1) to normally hold thedogs in retracted position. When, however, this wire is sheared or cutin the manner to be described hereinafter, the dogs are released foroutward radial movement under the influence of the spring fiingers 26.

As shown in FIGS. l and 2, a slot 33 extends through the bodyintermediate the dogs 23 and substantially transversely of theirdirection of radial movement. A knife 34 is connected to the body bymeans of a pin 3S for pivotally swinging -Within the slot. This knifehas an outer end 36 which, in the solid line position shown in FIG. 2,is disposed within the collar recess 15. More particularly, in thislatter position, the outer end of the knife will engage the upper edgeof the recess, as shown in FlG. 4, to provide a stop against upwardmovement of the body.

As best shown in F-lG. 2, an intermediate portion of the wire 31 ispassed through an elongated opening 37 in the knife 3d and beneath acutting edge in the upper end of this opening. More particularly, in theoutwardly extending position of the knife shown in FIG. 2, the cuttingedge rests upon the top side of the wire to prevent it from furtherswinging in a clockwise direction. The knife is normally urged into theoutwardly extending position of FIG. 2 by means of a spring 38 supportedfrom the body by a pin 38a and acting between the upper end of the slot33 and the top side of the knife. The spring 38 is yieldable to permitthe knife to swing in a counterclockwise direction to the positionindicated by broken lines 36a, as the collar stop is being run into thewell (FTG. 3), to permit the free downward movement of the assembly.

When, however, the tool reaches the position in the well shown in FIG.4, the outer end 36 of the knife moves into the recess to locate thebody 11 in the position shown in FTG. 4. With the knife thus heldagainst upward movement, the wire line may be jarred upwardly to shearthe wire 31, thereby freeing the knife 34 for swinging downwardly towardthe position indicated at 36h in FIG. 2. Thus, the body moves upwardlyrelative to the dogs 23 rto shear the .wire 31 by means of the cuttingedge of the knife 34. This will, as previously mentioned, release body11 and expander 39 thereon to withdraw the locking surface i1 andwedging surface 40 from within the dogs and thereby release them fromlocked position within the collar recess.

A sleeve 42 is carried by the body 11 toward its lower end and isprovided with openings 43 therethrough for receiving the rods 26. Thus,upon further raising of the body by the wire line, the collar 42 willslide up over the rods 26 to gradually retract the dogs. When thissleeve reaches the position shown in FIG. 6, to withdraw the dogs fromanchoring position within the collar recess, the collar 42 will carrythe dogs and their support upwardly with it so that the entire assemblymay be pulled from the well. As previously mentioned, the knife 34 willbe in the dotted line position indicated at 3612 so that it wont hang upin any of the collar recessesy of other recesses above the one in whichthe stop has been anchored. As best shown from a-comparison of FIGS. yland S, this collar 42 is initially located above the carrier 27 for thedogs a distance suicient to permit the body to move downwardly withrespect to fthe expanded dogs to lock them in anchored position.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention, theover-all tool has a thin cross section to minimize its resistance tolongitudinal movement within the well and thus permit it to be run andpulled at maximum speed. Thus, as indicated in FIG. 2, the sides of thesingle pair of dogs do not extend substantially beyond the lateraldimension of the portion of they body about which they are carried. Asalso indicated in FIG. 2, the sides of the expander 139, sleeve 42 anddog support 27 are flat and do not extend substantially beyond the sidesof the body intermediate the dogs, except for guide kfins 44 and 4S onthe expander and collar, respectively.

In view of the location of the carrier or support 27-for the dogsbeneath the body 11, forces which tend to move the support upwardly willtighten the anchoring of the dogs 23 within the recess 15. That is, thestii rods 26 form a direct force-transmitting connection between thesupport and the dogs within the recess.

Reviewing now the intended use of thecollar stop 10, it is rst loweredinto the well 12 by means of running tool 19 suspended from wire line21. During this time,V

of course, the dogs 23- are held in retracted position and the knife 34is swung upwardly to the dotted line position 36a, whereby the over-allassembly moves freely-within the I well. When the operator determines byproper manipulai tion of the wire line that the knife 34 has swung intothe the spring-pressed dogs 23 for expansion outwardly into engagementwith the well. Then the body is lowered on the wireline to permit thedogs to expand further into the recess 15.

An expander 39 on the body 11 above the dogs 23 is operable, uponjarring of the body downwardly, to lock the l dogs in anchoringposition, as shown in FlG. 5. Thus, the lower end of the expander has aconically downwardly and inwardly tapered surface 4G to wedge the innersurfaces of the dogs outwardly upon downward movement of the body withrespect to the dogs. As the inner surfaces of the dogs move up over lthetapered surface 40, they will slide upwardly over more steeply inclinedlocking surfaces 41 on the expander as the body comes to rest.

Obviously, the upward pull on the wire line to shear pin 29 and wire 31,as well as the downward jar to actuate the expander 39, must be ofsufficiently small magnitude to prevent shearing the pin 20 connectingthe running tool 19 to the head 16. However, when the dogs have been`locked in anchored position in the recess 15, the line may be jarreddownwardly to shear the pin 26 and permit the running tool 19l to bepulled from the well.

When it is desired to unlock the collar stop and pull it from the well,the pulling tool 22 shown in FIG. 6 is lowered into the well forattachment to the head 16 of the body, as shown-in FIG. 6.V When thestop has been so grasped, upward movement of the wire line will raisethe recess 15, he need only raise the wire line to bring theA upper edgeof the outer end of the knife into engagement with the upper side of therecess 15. j

This stops further upward movement of the body, so that an upward pullor jar on the -wire lme is sufficient to `shear the pin 29' to releasethe body 11 for relative upward movement with respect to the support 27andthe dogs carried thereby. This in turn `causes the cutting edge ofthe knife to shear the wire 31 thereby releasing the dogs for expansionoutwardly into engagement with the lwell. Then, upon a lowering of theVwire line, the dogs 4are permitted to expand into anchoringv positionwithin recess 15.

The wire line operato-r then jars the body downwardly to cause it tomove the expander 39'into locking position within the dogs 23 which, yaspreviously noted, have been expanded into the recess 15. At this time, astill heavier downward jar will shear the pin 2d to release the running'00119 for removal from the well. Y

When ity is desired to pull the collar stop, its head 16` -iS -gSped bya pulling tool 22 lowered into the well, as

shown in FIG. 6, and the wire yline is raised to first remove theexpander from looking position. Further kupward tbody raises the sleeve42 into a positionover the rods 26 to retract the dogs 23 from therecess 15. When the dogs are fullyretracted,

continued upward movement of the body will` carry .they

dogs and their support with it. During this upward movement of theentire assembly, the knife 34, which is now in the downward positionindicated at Sb in FIG. 2, will ride over the upper edge of recess 15 asWell as downwardly facing edges or shoulders on other recesses Withinthe Well to permit the collar stop to be removed therefrom.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth,together with other advantages lwhich are obvious and which are inherentto the apparatus.

It will be understood that certain ieatures and sub'- combinations areof utility and may ybe employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is Within the scope of theclaims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth `or shown in the accompanying drawings is to 'beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

l. A collar stop or like well tool adapted to be anchored in a recesswithin a well, comprising a `body connectable to a Wire line forlongitudinal movement within the well, a knife pivotally mounted on thebody and yieldably urged for rotational movement in one direction, `dogscarried by the body for movement longitudinally with respect thereto andnorm-ally urged outwardly therefrom toward an expanded position foranchoring within a recess, a wire connecting the dogs to hold them inretracted position and disposed across a cutting edge of the knife tolimit rotational movement of the knife in said one direction at adistance suicient for engagement with the upper end of said recess whenthe body is lowered into the well, said body lbeing movable upwardlywith respect to the recess when the knife is held by `said engagement ofthe knife with the recess to shear said wire and thereby permit the dogsto expand into a position for anchoring within said .recess and theknife to `swing further in said one direction into a `position formov-ing over the yupper end of said recess Iupon raising of the body,and means on the body for withdrawing the dogs from the recess as the`body is raised `further with respect to the dogs and holding them inretracted position as the body is raised within the well.

2. A collar stop of the character dened in claim l, including a carrierbelow the body and spring arms extending upwardly and outwardly from thecarrier to support the `dogs from their upper ends of said arms, andsaid withdrawing means comprises a sleeve secured to the body slidabieupwardly over the spring arms.

3. A collar stop of the character detned in claim 2, including a pinconnecting the carrier and body for longitudinal movement with oneanother and shearable upon said vupward movement of the body withrespect to said dogs.

4. A collar stop of the ycharacter` dened in claim l, wherein the body`and carrier are flattened across substantially all of one pair ofopposite sides and the dogs are carried beside the other pair ofopposite lsides `of the body to prov-ide the tool with a minimum crosssection.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS DatinJune 21, 1960

1. A COLLAR STOP OR LIKE WELL TOOL ADAPTED TO BE ANCHORED IN A RECESSWITHIN A WELL, COMPRISING A BODY CONNECTABLE TO A WIRE LINE FORLONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT WITHIN THE WELL, A KNIFE PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON THEBODY AND YIELDABLY URGED FOR ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT IN ONE DIRECTION, DOGSCARRIED BY THE BODY FOR MOVEMENT LONGITUDINALLY WITH RESPECT THERETO ANDNORMALLY URGED OUTWARDLY THEREFROM TOWARD AN EXPANDED POSITIONS FORANCHORING WITHIN A RECESS, A WIRE CONNECTING THE DOGS TO HOLD THEM INRETRACTED POSITION AND DISPOSED ACROSS A CUTTING EDGE OF THE KNIFE TOLIMIT ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT OF THE KNIFE IN SAID ONE DIRECTION AT ADISTANCE SUFFICIENT FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE UPPER END OF SAID RECESSWHEN THE BODY IS LOWERED INTO THE WELL, SAID BODY BEING MOVABLE UPWARDLYWITH RESPECT TO THE RECESS WHEN THE KNIFE IS HELD BY SAID ENGAGEMENT OFTHE KNIFE WITH THE RECESS TO SHEAR SAID WIRE AND THEREBY PERMIT THE DOGSTO EXPAND INTO A POSITION FOR ANCHORING WITHIN SAID RECESS AND THE KNIFETO SWING FURTHER IN SAID ONE DIRECTION INTO A POSITION FOR MOVING OVERTHE UPPER END OF SAID RECESS UPON RAISING OF THE BODY, AND MEANS ON THEBODY FOR WITHDRAWING THE DOGS FROM THE RECESS AS THE BODY IS RAISEDFURTHER WITH RESPECT TO THE DOGS AND HOLDING THEM IN RETRACTED POSITIONAS THE BODY IS RAISED WITHIN THE WELL.